Bruce Meyer Gallery: Hot Rods

Permanent

Few vehicles evoke the spirit of Southern California motoring like hot rods. Though familiar to only a small number of enthusiasts before World War II, postwar magazines such as Hot Rod helped popularize them among teenagers, young adults, and returning servicemen. Eager to transform their cars (preferably 1932 Fords) into highway scorching street and racing machines, these aficionados applied their considerable mechanical skills and fabrication expertise to create a near infinite variety of vehicles that, while top performers, also served to express their talents and highly individualistic tastes. Now among the best remembered cars of their era, hot rods are revered for their grace, power, and rugged beauty.